As promised, Chi-Woo gathered everyone during dinner time and introduced Yunael to them. Their response was favorable, especially considering the Tania name and Yunael’s close companions.h.i.+p with Aida. No one was unhappy that they were going to gain another skilled companion. It was the same for Yunael. They had worried that there were going to be some disagreements when they first joined, but there had been nothing to worry about.
Ho Lactea’s atmosphere was stiff and cold just like the army. In comparison, Seven Stars was warm, free, and felt less robotic. Though Ho Lactea wasn’t bad, Yunael liked Seven Stars’ atmosphere much better.
“Are you going to wash with us too, Ms. Yunael?” Evelyn asked with a soft smile. “There’s a newly built bathhouse in the main building. It’s quite nice, so I use it at least once a day.” The first team returned to Shalyh and had been too overwhelmed with exhaustion to do anything but sleep. Thus, Evelyn tried to get Yunael to join her in the bathhouse now to relieve the fatigue and bond with the rest of the women.
“A bath…? I like it too, but…” Then Yunael asked, “Will that really be alright with you? Even if I go with you?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I’m not a woman. So you should also refrain from calling me miss.”
Evelyn’s eyes turned wide. It wasn’t only her. Everyone looked shocked. Yunael wasn’t a woman? Now that they really studied them, they noticed that Yunael’s chest area was flat after taking off their armor and putting on comfortable clothes. It wasn’t that their chest was small, but they had no curves like a man.
“I never said I was a man or a woman,” Yunael seemed to have expected their responses and tilted their head. Chi-Woo looked back at Yunael, a bit stunned. He had thought when he first saw Yunael that they looked pretty and feminine, but it was hard to tell whether they were a man or a woman. To think that they were actually a man! It was shocking, but Chi-Woo regained his composure. It didn’t really matter anyway, and the important point was whether Yunael was fit to be the third star of his team.
“Well, then we can take Mr. Yunael with us,” Eval said. Likewise, he didn’t seem too concerned about the matter and said, “Let us men go together. There’s boys’ talk just like girls’ talk.”
“No, I—”
“Ah, don’t try to sneak out of it. Even Boss and the first team’s captain are coming. It’s rare for everyone to gather like this.”
“Just listen to me for a bit—” For some reason, Yunael looked disgruntled by this too, but Eval forcefully pulled them up. Chi-Woo thought it wasn’t a bad idea and trailed after them, and Ru Amuh soon followed. Aida chuckled as she watched Yunael being carried farther away from the rest of the group.
“I understand if you don’t feel comfortable around me. But you should also think about my position,” Eval said after they arrived at the men-only bathhouse and took off his clothes. “That’s just my responsibility. I must always consider Seven Stars’ security foremost.” Then Eval turned around after getting completely naked. “But now that we are on the same team, let’s forget about what happened in the past. We will be seeing each other often now, so there’s no point in us fighting anymore.”
Seeing that Yunael was still not undressing themselves, Eval asked, “Huh? What’s wrong?”
Yunael sighed. Then they aggressively threw off their clothes and revealed their flat chest.
“Hm, that’s the way.” Eval nodded, and Yunael nonchalantly also took off their bottom, including their underwear.
“All right. Let’s soak ourselves inside the hot water and…” Eval suddenly stopped. Then he blinked very fast. Chi-Woo and Ru Amuh, who were also making their preparations to enter the bathhouse, also stopped and showed the same response. They were all staring at the area between Yunael’s long legs and not looking away from it. There was nothing; no feature of a man—no elephant, baguette, or anything else. But there was no feature of a woman—ah, what could it be called—um, anyways, there was none of that either. In scholarly terms, Yunael didn’t have any s.e.xual organs that could differentiate their s.e.x.
“Are you all satisfied?” Yunael asked. It sounded like they were asking if seeing their body was enough for them. Eval soon regained his senses, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Yunael yet.
“Uh…” he asked in astonishment. “Where do you pee from?”
“Hey.” Yunael’s face immediately scrunched up.
***
Meanwhile, at the women-only bathhouse, Aida was revealing the truth about Yunael’s s.e.x to the women.
“Yunael is neither female nor male. To be exact, they have no s.e.x. It’s a special trait of the Tania family. They have no s.e.x when they are born into this world.”
Ru Hiana’s face filled with curiosity as she asked, “What? Does that mean Yunael is hermaphrodite?”
“That’s not the case at all. Yunael is born from the love of two parents,” Aida replied with a smile, “All members of the Tania experience a special p.u.b.erty where they choose their own s.e.x.”
“Hm…didn’t you say that Yunael was twenty years old?” Evelyn suddenly asked. “Do they have to fulfill some strict conditions or go through difficulties in going through p.u.b.erty?” Evelyn was curious how Yunael could go through twenty years of their lives without their s.e.x getting chosen.
“No, that’s not the case at all,” Aida explained. “Usually, members of the Tania family experience p.u.b.erty at eight or nine years old on the fast side and, on average, fourteen years old. At the latest, it is usually seventeen or eighteen.”
“Then what happened to Yunael?”
“The reason Yunael has no s.e.x even at twenty years old…isn’t exactly clear, but I think it has to do with the environment they grew up in. It was a very restricted one.”
“In what ways?”
“Yunael’s parents decided on their child’s fate the moment they were born and only focused on making them a hero. Thus, their training began when they were very, very young…” Evelyn said in a bitter voice, and Evelyn looked like she understood a bit. Eshnunna and Hawa also looked sympathetic. They knew what it was like to be raised for a purpose. But it really was surprising. How severe was their environment that it could push off one deciding their s.e.x for so long?
“Anyways, it isn’t a difficult matter for a Tania to go through p.u.b.erty. Instead, it’s very easy. They just need a very slight trigger.”
“A trigger?”
“Yes, as I said before, they can choose their own s.e.x,” Aida continued. “They just need to have a slight feeling. Just a very slight interest in a specific s.e.x or want themselves to become a man or a woman.” They simply needed to unconsciously want to become one s.e.x, and the moment their s.e.x hormones leaned one way, their s.e.x would be decided.
“Yunael’s parents only realized their mistake when it was already too late.”
Evelyn smiled at this and said, “I can guess why. I bet the two wanted Yunael to be a man.”
It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from ReadNovelFull.com.
“Exactly, but it was way too late then.” Aida and Yunael had been together for a decade. There could have been something between the two, but Yunael didn’t see Aida as a potential love interest but simply a trustworthy companion. Though Aida was a charming woman, Yunael showed no interest in her that way, as is evidenced by their unchanged body.
“Though it might be a bit funny for me to hope for it in this situation…” After a momentary pause, Aida said, “I still hope that child can decide their s.e.x even in this world.”
Evelyn also seemed regretful. “I hope the same, but I wonder if they’ll be able to…”
“Yunael doesn’t consider it a priority, but it’s not like they don’t have any interest at all. But as high as their confidence is, their standards are also high.” Then Aida added that there was at least something hopeful in Liber.
“I suppose you meant that they have a very particular taste. But what’s hopeful about here?”
“Isn’t the legend here?”
“Ah, the legend.”
“Even a prideful and self-centered person like Yunael showed slight interest when the legend was mentioned.”
“Hm, for brother-in-law…then are they going to become my sister-in-law?” Evelyn murmured to herself, and Aida didn’t catch onto what she said.
“They don’t even need to hang around the legend. Even a short interaction could influence them in big ways,” Aida said, filled with a.s.surance and hope.
***
After finis.h.i.+ng their bath, Chi-Woo showed Yunael around the building and guided them to their room.
“That’s pretty much the entire building, and you can stay in this place for now,” Chi-Woo said. “This room is usually reserved for guests, but it doesn’t mean you are a guest. We still need to decide on the little details, but I will have a separate conversation with you soon. Until then, you should stay here. And—”
“Ah, I got it. I got it,” Yunael finally blurted out, unwilling to take it any longer. “Why are you trying to take care of me from A to Z? Are you my dad or something?”
Chi-Woo thought for a bit and nodded in understanding. “Yeah, that’s right. You are not a kid.”
“What?”
“Sleep well. You did a lot of work today.” Chi-Woo turned around and walked away while waving his hands, and Yunael laughed humorlessly.
“…Unbelievable. It was just like yesterday when he used to ignore me.”
But it wasn’t bad that Chi-Woo was taking care of them now. Yunael soon went back to their room and slumped onto their bed. Perhaps it was because of their fatigue, but their body felt heavy and sleepy. They lay unmoving with their arms and legs wide apart and looked up at the ceiling.
‘…It took so long.’ Yunael had told the truth when talking to Alice. They had wanted to go to Seven Stars from the beginning and thought it was fate. And though many things had happened since then, they were finally part of Seven Stars now. It felt like they were finally wearing clothes that fit them.
Perhaps because this was where Aida was, their heart felt at ease; and for some reason, they kept feeling the urge to laugh. Everything that happened until now pa.s.sed through their head like a panorama. Among them, there were some memories that stood out to her more clearly than others.
Their first meeting with Chi-Woo had been truly terrible. At that time, Yunael thought Chi-Woo was a cold, heartless person; but after interacting with him, they realized that wasn’t the case. His back had felt surprisingly warm when they were being carried. It was wide and firm and reminded them of their youth, when they used to be carried by their dad.
‘There’s something about him…’ Yunael admitted to themselves. The strength and prowess Chi-Woo displayed at the heart of the underground area were truly astonis.h.i.+ng. He crushed everything with his club alone and bulldozed forward. He accomplished something even they couldn’t do. And that was only the start.
It was the same when they met Samigina. He was able to easily beat a great demon like it was nothing…
“Ugh.” Yunael’s eyes widened suddenly.
[Wake uuuup!]
[Umph!]
At the time he’d accidentally slammed his face against theirs because he’d gotten up so suddenly. Though it had happened for just a moment, the sensation they had felt still seemed to linger in their mind. Yunael unconsciously touched their lips and realized what they were doing. “…Ah, d.a.m.n it!”
Yunael’s face reddened, and they tried with all their might to think of something else. ‘Let me see. What did I do today…’
Then they suddenly thought of Evelyn’s face. She really was pretty, including when she sometimes glanced at Chi-Woo affectionately. Even a girl would fall in love with her at first sight…?
‘…Huh?’ Yunael was stunned. Why were they having such thoughts?
“Ah, seriously!” Yunael floundered around their bed for a while and smashed their face into the pillow. Thankfully, the drowsiness they felt before returned in full force.
“It really is…strange,” Yunael quickly closed their eyes. They thought such things to themselves, unable to tell anyone else. That night, Yunael groaned in pain all night long on their bed like they were suffering from a severe fever.